The Quest to be the Best
by MG18
Summary: After Ash returns home from the Kalos League, the Sinnoh Champion offers him a chance to train under the best. After 3 years of training under Cynthia and her staff, Ash, Gary and Paul resume their journeys with the aim to become the greatest Pokemon Masters ever. And yet terrible darkness lurks on the horizon, that our heroes must fight! rated T to be safe, updated every 2 weeks
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, nor do I own any of the characters that I have so far used in this Fanfic.**

 **However the plot of this fic is completely my own, so any resemblance to any other author's fanfic is purely coincidental and if anyone feels I am stealing their work please do PM me I will change my story if I feel that you are right.**

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 **The Quest to be the Best**

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 _ **Prologue**_

 _Pokemon-Dazzling and Awe inspiring, the amazing creatures that thrive on this planet, in numbers too large to even begin to count, numerous and varied to be sure!_

 _People and Pokemon, Together, compete against each other in a Pokemon Battle, Hoping to one day become champions, stronger and greater than all others in the world! Battles bring people and their pokemon closer; they strengthen the bonds of friendship and love shared by trainers with their pokemon as they compete where only the best of the best and the greatest of the great can triumph!_

 _In this beautiful world of Pokemon, though, not everything is perfect. Wherever there is good, there must also be evil, for good and evil are but sides of a coin. And as always, whenever evil rises, so does a hero, a hero full of goodness, whose heart is pure and untouched by any negative thought of the world, a hero whose ideals shine so bright that they obliterate all traces of the darkness that evil brings with itself._

 _One such hero is a young teen named Ash Ketchum, whose trademarked z marks on the cheek, his ebony hair, chocolate brown eyes and monumental appetite are well known in the world. And yet his true journey is just beginning…_

 _Join him as he seeks to become a Pokemon Master, as he sets out to become the strongest trainer ever in this enthralling tale of bravery, selflessness, mind numbing pokemon battling, of goodness and how it will always triumph over evil and above all tale of love, as it is always love that motivates any good deed, love for friends, for family and for Pokemon…_

 _ **Three Years Ago, Lumiose City**_

"Greninja is unable to battle. The winner of this round is Charizard. As Ash Ketchum has no usable pokemon left, I declare Alain the Champion of Kalos. The presentations will take place shortly. Please stay to cheer our Champion and the Runner-Up."

"Awesome job Greninja, return and take a good rest," said the young Trainer. Strangely, instead of sadness and loss, he had a strange sense of pride in this defeat. He had lost to a truly powerful pair of Pokemon and trainer, a pair that had spent 14 years building an unbreakable bond between them.

The next few hours were a blur. He remembered the crowd applauding both him and Alain equally enthusiastically, President Goodshow giving him the Runners Up trophy, Alain congratulating him on a well fought battles and then leaving the city and going back on the road with Serena, Clemont and Bonnie.

 _ **A few weeks later**_

"I understand you must help Greninja. You gotta stay and protect the region from these monstrosities. I will miss you buddy, you are an amazing pokemon and a friend." He was nearly to tears parting with his beloved pokemon, but he knew he must. "I will keep coming here to meet you frequently, don't worry buddy."

 _ **A few days later, at the Lumiose city Airport**_

"Goodbye guys, I am never going forget you guys. Take care, everyone," said Ash, and Pikachu agreed whole heartedly, screaming at the top of his lungs "Pika Pika Pi Pika pi pi pikachuuuu". Our hero then boarded the plane that would take him to Kanto, to Pallet Town, to his home, where he was sure his mom had already arranged her traditional Welcome Home Ash party, just like when he returned from all his previous adventures.

A few hours later, he had landed at Viridian Trans-Regional airport, called out his Noivern and was on its back, flying towards Pallet. As he approached Professor Oak's Lab, and the Ranch behind it, he saw a something unusual. His Gible was playing with a Garchomp, but as far as he remembered there was no Garchomp at Oak's Lab because the Pokemon Professor kept badgering him to use Gible in battles so it would evolve and he could finally study a Garchomp. And this was no normal Garchomp either, it looked very powerful, which meant there was a powerful trainer in town, and his nerves began tingling at the thought of challenging this trainer.

He landed right in the middle of the gathering in the town square, and was instantly steamrollered by the massive hugs and greetings from his mom, Mimey, and many of his friends and rivals from his previous journeys. In attendance were Misty and Brock, his first two travelling partners, Gary, his first rival and now good friend, Tracey from the Orange islands who now was an assistant to Professor Oak, May and Max from Hoenn, and, to his delight, Dawn as well from Sinnoh. He also noticed, to his surprise, lurking near the back of the group a guy who was once his bitterest rival ever but now one of his best friends and a highly respected trainer, Paul. He looked exactly like the last time he saw him after the Lily of The Valley conference, but inside Ash knew he had changed. This he knew because Paul, like himself with his Greninja, could evolve his Electivire to a state more powerful than even Mega Evolution through Battle Bond, a phenomenon that required an immense bond of love, care and understanding between Trainer and Pokemon. His old harsh, cold and cruel attitude could never have given him the ability to Battle Bond with his pokemon. Their eyes met, and they both knew what the other wanted, a battle!

Nodding at each other, they both withdrew a pokeball each from their belts and Ash broke free from his mom's hug, and announced their battle. They went to the nearby park where there was a large sandbox that would serve as a battlefield, as all the party goers lined up on the side and started cheering them both on. Gary walked up to referee the match.

"This is an unofficial one-on-one exhibition match between Ash Ketchum and Paul Shinji. The match is over when either pokemon is unable to battle," he announced from the side of the sandbox. "Trainers, choose your pokemon."

"Electivire, stand-by for battle!"

"Noivern, I choose you!"

Gary looked at each trainer and nodded, "Let the battle begin."

"Alright Electivire, let's make this quick. Clip that dragon's wings with your Thunder."

 _Damn. There isn't enough space to dodge without exiting the sandbox and surrendering. I could go in close and try dragon claw or dragon rush but then Electivire would just catch hold of Noivern start pummelling Noivern with punches before I can counter, just like he did with Pikachu in the Sinnoh League..._

 _All right I think I got a plan. It's risky but worth a try._

"Noivern, Steel Wing on the ground, bury them in the sand to avoid damage."

All the spectators gasped as one. No one had expected Ash to do something like that. They watched as a colossal bolt of lightning descended from the sky and hit Noivern square on the back, pushing him further into sandy ground. Noivern grunted but kept his now glowing wings firmly buried in the ground, sending the electricity down into the earth while taking minimal .

"Same old Ketchum, weak and predictable," Paul smirked. "When will you learn Ash that you should NEVER let your pokemon get backed into a corner. Twice I beat your pikachu like that and now your noivern is going down. Electivire, approach Noivern without cutting off the Thunder, and once you are there, cut it off and start using a flurry of Thunder Punches and Brickbreaks."

The spectators watched as the powerful electric type started moving over to where Noivern was, still keeping up the Thunder. They looked at the Kalos league runner up, almost sure that the battle was over for him. Paul looked over to Ash, nervous that he hadn't said anything or given any command so far, and was shocked to see Ash grinning as if he had just won the match.

"Well Paul, it is obvious you haven't battled noiverns much. Now watch." He waited until Electivire was almost on the top of Noivern and then commanded, "Noivern, let's make some noise, BOOMBURST, FULL POWER, NOW!

Everyone gasped as Noivern lifted himself out of the ground and Electivire got hit by the extremely powerful move right in the face, and in that moment between Noivern's wings coming out and his using Boomburst, he was hit with the Thunder but still managed to use his move.

"Thunder Punch"

"Dragon Claw"

"Dodge and Brickbreak"

"Counter with Hyper Voice, then use Dragon Claw."

"Dodge Electivire and another Thunder Punch"

"Fly high up out of reach, then use Dragon Dance"

Noivern flew up high and out of site and carried out his trainer's command. On the ground, Paul and Electivire waited nervously for the Pokemon to come down.

"Charge up a full power Thunderbolt. Get ready to use to the moment you see him. Watch out for whatever move Ash is planning."

Electivire nodded, and built up a colossal amount of electricity between his horns and his tails.

At this, Ash whooped and said, "Noivern, close in and use Dragon Rush at full speed."

Fast as lightening, Noivern swooped in, covered in blue draconic energy, just as Electivire reached full power and managed to release his attack.

The two powerful moves collided right in front of Electivire's face, and the resulting explosion resulted in a lot of sand and smoke covering the sandbox and the trainers. When the view cleared, everyone stared at the scene. Two heavily bruised, panting pokemon stood in the sand before their trainers who had concerned looks on their faces. Noivern, who had taken less damage from earlier attacks, managed to take flight with a huge roar of effort. Electivire was standing, but was panting heavily and wobbling slightly from taking that first Boomburst right in the face and then this explosion.

He looked at his trainer, who nodded.

"Well Ash, you have grown stronger, but I am afraid that's as far as you can push me. Now Electivire, let's show them our true power. Time to unite and share our strength. BATTLE BOND!"

Both Pokemon and trainer closed their eyes. Electivire began to glow a blinding white. Everyone watched the transformation occur as if in slow motion. When the light died, it revealed a powerful, changed pokemon. The two horns on the Thunderbolt pokemon's head had grown larger and turned bright white. The tails had gotten thicker and developed a series of spikes of the same red colour as their tips. Each arm was longer with bulging muscles. It's legs had lengthened by about half a foot and they were slightly thicker and again more muscled. The yellow fur had turned bright red while the all the black markings had turned electric blue, like the colour of Zekrom's lightening. Sparks of the same colour coursed all over its body continuously. It also had grown about a foot taller.

Everyone gasped in amazement at the transformation that took place. They could feel the immense power radiating from this pokemon, as though it were some legendary pokemon.

Paul opened his eyes and spoke just one word. "Thunder"

Before Ash could even register the command, it had been executed. A massive bolt of lightning struck Noivern right on the head, and he immediately fainted.

For a whole minute, there was no sound. Then Gary remembered his duties as a referee.

"N-Noivern is u-u-unable to battle. P-Paul wins." He announced, stuttering due to the immense power he had just witnessed.

Everyone broke into applause, which soon turned into cheers and shouts of admiration. It looked as though the whole of Pallet had come to watch the battle after hearing the initial explosions.

"Thank you Electivire, you are one heck of an amazing pokemon. Time to return and take a well-deserved rest." Paul told his partner after devolving it. He returned his pokemon and looked up to see Ash doing the same.

"You too Noivern. Take a long rest." Ash recalled his pokemon, before turning to Paul. "THAT was one heck of a battle Paul. That was some display from your Battle mode Electivire."

"You were being stupid, letting Noivern take that much damage just to land a few hits. You should have kept to the air and used Dragon Pulse from a distance to wear me down. You might have won then, but I guess sensible strategies have no place in your head, which is clearly full of foolish, reckless suicidal strategies." With that, Paul walked off to the lab, saying he might as well get some training in while they were wasting time at a party.

Ash's stomach suddenly growled and his homecoming party finally began as he rushed over to table to eat.

For a few more hours the festivities went on, and they would have gone on longer but for Ash's Charizard, who must have seen him coming flying to Pallet and wondering why his trainer had not yet come. He came and started using flamethrower, first on Ash's face and then on the table to burn up the remaining food. Ash, thinking he should go and meet his pokemon, climbed onto Charizard and flew over to the Ranch, effectively ending the Party.

"Woah guys, calm down. I don't want to break a few dozen bones you know!" He exclaimed, as he was assaulted by all his pokemon rushing to him at once, trying to get into his arms or onto his shoulder. He headed over to the big Oak(all the pun intended) tree in the middle of the Ranch, where he greeted each of his 87 pokemon individually and introduced them to their new friends from Kalos. After a few more hug assaults he finally left the Ranch and headed to the Lab, leaving all his Pokemon but Pikachu, who never left his side (shoulder, actually), at the Ranch.

"Professor, I learnt a lot in Kalos. I came to know about 3 regions that I still haven't visited. I understand that the Sholtour Islands are actually the World League HQ and are off limits to anyone who is not a member of a Pokemon League with a minimum rank of Elite 4 and so I can't go there, but I am really confused between going to the Tayose region and the Feilong region. They both sound really cool. I heard that while the huge number and types of different Dragon types are simply impossible to find anywhere but in Feilong, you can't do much better than Tayose when it comes to versatility of Pokemon types. I don-". Ash was cut off by the professor. "Ash Listen for a minute. I know you are really pumped after finishing at your best in the Kalos league and want to carry on as soon as possible but wait. There is a certain guest here who would like to speak to you. She has an offer for you, and a very good one at that. I think now is the perfect time to call her. Just a moment Ash, I'll go and get her." And with that he left through the door.

When Professor Oak came back, he was accompanied by someone Ash was very familiar with. Standing before him was 5"10' beauty. Young, with luscious long cream yellow hair, clad in a black jacket over her black dress and leggings. A long frill of her hair descends on the left side of her face, covering her left eye, all the way down to her waist. Her gorgeous silver eyes sparkle and despite that dazzling, cheerful smile and the youth in her, she radiates a power unlike any other. The Garchomp he saw earlier was now no more a mystery. The longest undefeated Champion in the history of the Pokemon League, The Empress of Sinnoh, and the most powerful pokemon trainer Ash knew, Cynthia Voltaire Shirona, Champion of the Sinnoh League, stood before him.

 _ **2 hours later**_

"Ash, I wouldn't be offering you this chance unless I was absolutely sure you were fit for and worthy of this. You see, what we are providing you with is the same level of training that a new Champion or Elite 4 is provided on joining the League. You may disagree right now with me, but I am sure you will realize when and if you join that the experience we can give will be much more effective than what you can get from travelling. When I say you don't journey doesn't mean you are stuck in the same city and the same building day and night, just that it won't your standard journey of going from Gym to Gym. In fact, most of your training will be fieldwork with only occasional trips to the school building. You will only be journeying while being observed and carrying out tasks that we assign you. You will still meet many new pokemon, and trainers while out. Your progress as a trainer will increase manifold under our guidance and by the time you are ready to graduate you will really be a force to be reckoned with." Cynthia finished, finally taking a seat in the study, after nearly two hours of continuously presenting to the young trainer the details of a top secret League program, though she hadn't mentioned that. As far as Ash knew, he was joining a school that was going to make him as powerful as a Champion, if not more. He, and his classmates, would be taught by her, former Unova champ Alder, and former Kanto E4s Agatha and Koga to become powerful Pokemon trainers.

"Why just me?" He asked. "I mean there are plenty of powerful trainers out there who are stronger and more powerful than me, who have more experience and more pokemon than me. So why me and why not them?"

"It's not just you. Gary and Paul have also been offered a place. The only other person is a trainer named Lucas, who Alder happens to know personally. As for why you and these guys, you are young, which means moulding you into the trainers we want you to become is far easier than with older trainers. You are determined and hardworking. You love and care more for your pokemon than any other trainer in the world, which is evident by the fact that you and Paul are the only people in the world who can Battle Bond. Gary is very knowledgeable about pokemon and has a lot of natural talent when it comes to battling. Lucas also shows similar traits. You four are perfect for the school."

After a minute of silence Ash spoke, "Cynthia, I get what you want me to do. I also see what you want me to give up. I also understand why you want me to join. Where I find it a little hazy is why this whole thing? Why have you suddenly decided to open a battle academy, when you must already be busy with your job as a champion? Where do Alder, Koga and Agatha fit in, seeing as Alder comes from an entire different region and Koga and Agatha are so different in so many terms, age, battle style, lifestyle, almost everything?

Cynthia groaned mentally. She had prepared for this, but it was still going to be a pain in the side, giving enough to satisfy his curiosity but also hiding enough to ensure the secrecy of the program.

"You see after Alder retired 4 months ago, he was recounting his most thrilling times as a champion to us other champions, during a sort of farewell we had arranged for him. At that time, he remembered you and your friends stopping Team Plasma and how you had uncovered so much more information about them then we, despite being League Champions, had managed. It made us realize that ordinary trainers, just travelling around the world and taking on the Gyms and/or contests, could actually be the most effective way to arm the world against threats. So me and him decided to experiment in teaching, and since both Agatha and Koga were running their own separate schools, which were not running very well, we decided to ask them to join and they agreed. We intend you to be our first students, so that when you begin your journeys again, we can observe you to see if there is any change in the crime rates of the places you be to and if you manage to prevent any major calamities. Also if you guys succeed in doing well in the leagues and as safeguards, we plan on expanding our school so as to make it a proper pokeschool where students are taught the fine art of pokemon battling."

"I guess that does make sense. Well, I need some time to think on it. It's a pretty big decision and I don't want to rush it." Ash replied, getting up and pulling on his jacket, which he had removed due to the heat.

Cynthia almost sighed out aloud in relief at not being questioned about her motives further, before replying, "You have a week to make up your mind. I leave next Sunday evening, you have until then. You are free to ask me any questions regarding the institute. You may also discuss it with Gary and Paul if you would like to hear their views." With that, she got up and left, her hair flying behind her like a golden yellow cape due to the wind from the open window.

 _ **A few hours later, at night**_

"So what do you think of this proposal, eh Gary?" Ash asked his long-time friend, who was lounging in his favourite place in Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum's beloved pikachu bean bag and munching on the biscuits Ash's mom had sent up with Mimey. Meanwhile Ash himself lay on his bed, scratching Pikachu behind his ears, earning sweet little "Chaaa"s from him.

"Well Ashy-boy, it does look like a sweet little opportunity to me. I mean how many times has any of us been offered a chance to train under one of the strongest trainers in the world? But then, they ask for so much from us. Quit travelling for at least two, probably three years, no contacting even your family without authorization, only taking two or three of our pokemon with us and having to train the ones they allow us to catch in the wild… I don't know what to do." He replied.

"I see where you are going Gary. I was thinking along the same lines. Maybe this is too much to ask for, that friends and family are more important and that classroom teaching can never give us what we learn on a journey bu-" He was cut off by Paul, who had been uncomfortably sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, unsure what he was doing there in the first place. But seeing these two going so soft on themselves, he had finally cracked, and started to speak with force and conviction.

"Stop being such soft fools. You guys are blind if cant recognize this golden opportunity dancing in front of you buck naked. This is your chance, the chance of a lifetime to achieve your goals, to realize your dreams, to become powerful. You are talking about giving too much up? Do you even understand what we are being offered? How many trainers in the world would kill to get a chance half as good as this? And you will let it go? Because you can't sacrifice a bit of life for your goals? Didn't YOU want to become Pokemon Master, no matter what? Did you think it would be easy? That it would be a piece of cake? Duh, Ketchum, Good Morning. Big dreams require BIG sacrifices. And if you are unwilling to make those big sacrifices, then you don't DESERVE to even dream those dreams, let alone fulfil them. You are weak, you are a coward who hides behind a shield of excuses when asked to sacrifice, who talks big but has nothing to show for it. I am going to say yes, because unlike you I AM NOT a deaf, dumb and blind fool." With that, he got up, walked through the door and slammed it shut, before heading downstairs to the guest room where he was sleeping.

"Wow," Gary muttered, "That was some speech huh?"

"I know." Ash replied, before climbing into the bed and calling it a night, "'Night Gary. I had better get some sleep, I am tired from the day's activities, plus I got a jet lag."

Despite that, even after Gary fell asleep (they were sharing the room as Gary didn't want to wake his grandpa by going back to the lab) Ash lay awake thinking of what had happened during the day.

 _That battle with Paul was amazing. The way he evolved Electivire and then knocked me out in a single move! Man I wish I could have put up a better fight, I wish I was stronger. Well, you can become strong Ash,_ Ash thought to himself, _all you have to give is two or three years of your life. I can be a master, all I have to do is say yes. While I will miss travelling, I will be becoming strong. I will also be going around a lot of places according to Cynthia, so it might not be that bad. Plus I get to be trained by four very powerful trainers. I can become a Pokemon Master. It is what my whole life has been about up to this point and I will make sure it is what it is about from now on. Also that last stab from Paul hurt. All show and no go? Coward? Well Paul, you are in for a surprise. I have decided to say yes. I will become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world. I will do it for my pokemon, who are my friends, my family and have stood by me always. They deserve to be recognized as the pokemon of a master for all they have done for me and I swear my life on it that I will never give up on my dreams, NEVER, NO MATTER WHAT!_

 **A week later**

"So, what is your final answer?" Cynthia asked, while Ash helped her carry her luggage to the taxi waiting outside the gate.

He took a deep breath, "Yes I will join the Master's Institute of Advanced Pokemon Battling. I will do it."

Cynthia's face lit up at once, and she gave him a hug. She let go and blushed, muttering her thanks while looking away, not seeing that two other young trainers had come down the steps, carrying the rest of her luggage.

"Thanks Gary, Paul," she nodded at each of them. "I am sorry you don't want to join the Institute Gary, I wish I could do something to change your mind."

"Well, you are in luck. Getting absolutely thrashed by both Paul and Ash in a battle yesterday did that already. I am joining, if the invitation is still open, that is," He said. "Of course it is. Oh this is wonderful. Well, I had better be off. You guys I will be coming back in a month to pick you up for the Institute which is located in the Sinnoh region, near my home. You had better keep your three best pokemon ready to take with you, because we are going to put them through the wringer right from day one. Remember no more than three, as the others you will be catching during your training."

"You got it, Cynthia." Gary replied.

"All right, we will be waiting for you." Ash called.

Paul, his usual cold, distant self, merely nodded in acknowledgement.

 **A/N: - This is where this chapter ends with Ash Paul and Gary agreeing to join Cynthia's academy. Next chapter will contain the first few days at the academy and then skip to the present time, which is actually three years after they join.**

 **Also I have kept Ash & Gary 14 years old during the Kalos League, while Paul is 15.**

 **This is my first fanfic. Hope you like it. Read and review. I am open to suggestions, so feel free to PM**

 **Here are the modifications that I made to the Pokemon World:**

 **1] There are 9 regions, the six till Kalos and after that Tayose and Feilong as 2 regions like the other six with their own gyms and pokemon and stuff and finally Sholtour Islands, an entire region roughly thrice the size of Orange Islands which is the Headquarters of the World League. (I omitted Alola because I don't like the anime much and I don't have a 3ds so I don't know much about the region)**

 **2] The World League is the global govt. It governs the whole world. Each of the 8 regions are represented by the region's Pokemon League and while all trainers that work for the league are a part of the World League, only the 5 strongest trainers of a region, the E4 and Champion of each region are allowed in the HQ. Within the World League there is this hierarchy: there are the E4s of all the regions (32 of them) as the lowest Authority. Above them are the 8 Champions. Above them are 4 World Nobles. Each of the 4 World Nobles look over a sector of the world, North South East and West. Above the 4 Nobles is the Grand Council, a collection of the 5 most powerful trainers in the world who govern every aspect of it and are the absolute authority in the world. The members of the Grand Council are called Hermits.**

 **I am sorry if you were bored, but as I said this is my first fanfic so please forgive me, and you can send hate messages in my inbox I won't really mind.**

 **On another note, I know this looks like it's going to be a rayshipping (AshxCynthia, if you don't know) fic, but I have not yet decided on who I am going to ship. I am mainly confused between May and Cynthia, but may also consider Dawn. I am going to publish a chapter every 1 &1/2 to 2 weeks and if you want a poll to decide who to pair with Ash, send a PM, I ll set it up. Also, once I do ship, this might get rated M because of lemons.**

 **I am open to criticism and opinions so plz rate and review. Plz suggest any changes you want in my writing style if it's too boring or even if you just want change of POVs now and then ask me. And please login before reviewing so I can reply or at least leave a name in the review that I can use to reply in next chapter's A/N**

 **Lastly, the remaining chapters are longer and the A/N shall be 100 words max**


	2. 1: The Test for a New Journey

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, or most of the characters in this fic.**

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 **The Quest to be the Best**

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 _ **1: The Test for a New Journey**_

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It was the early morning of a beautiful spring day. The sky was cloudless, and pinkish in colour, with the rim of the sun just visible above the horizon. Four teenagers arrived in front of the building, each with different expressions on their faces. The first, 6"3' tall, with chocolate brown eyes and ebony hair, along with a smile that would steal a million female hearts in a second, was full of energy and excitement, looking forward to finally restarting his journey as a Gym challenger in a brand new region, Tayose. He wore a half-sleeved white shirt and black jeans. Over the shirt he wore a violet coloured sleeveless hoodie with two broad bright yellow stripes that ran diagonally from his right shoulder to the left side his waist, whose zipper was half open. On his head he wore a cap, yellow in colour with a Master Ball logo at the centre at the centre. On his shoulder was a yellow electric mouse, which looked small, cute and cuddly, but was also a phenomenal battler, with unparalleled speed and power, a result of intense training. 17 year old Ash Ketchum and his beloved pikachu were eager to finally finish training and resume their quest to become Pokemon Masters.

The second boy was also 17, but slightly shorter at about 6"1', with brown hair that was styled so that it looked like it had been swept by the wind and jet black eyes with a white spark in the centre. He wore an expression of grim determination. He was dressed in a sleeveless black t-shirt and cream coloured track pants, along with a blue wristband on his left wrist. Gary Oak was ready to come out of training and face the challenges that awaited him on his path to greatness, to being the greatest trainer in the world.

Next was a short boy with vivid orange hair and striking green eyes who stood about half a foot shorter than Ash. A year younger than the other two, but just as powerful and intelligent, he wore a calm and composed expression that reflected his reputation of being "stoic as a statue." He was dressed in a green t-shirt the colour of his eyes, and blue jeans along with a red headband to prevent his long, unruly hair from falling into his eyes. Lucas Vermont was looking forward to leaving the Institue and beginning his new adventures and testing out his strength in battle against as many trainers as possible.

The last of the group, and the oldest at 18 years old, was a purple haired trainer who looked almost exactly the same as when he entered this place for the first time three years earlier. He wore the same clothes, the same expression which made him look as though he was calculating a million things at once, and had the same air of silent but terrifying power around him. Paul Shinji was itching to finish training so he could get to the Feilong region as fast as possible and start tearing the Gym leaders' teams apart.

All the four teenagers shared four distinct similarities. One, they all aimed to be the greatest Pokemon trainers to have set foot in this world. Two, they had athletic, muscular bodies that could have only come from a lot of travelling and exercising in rough terrain. Three, all of them wore identical bracelets on their right wrists. These bracelets had imbedded in them the trainers' keystones, showing the world that their pokemon could mega evolve. And four, they each wore a necklace, which would soon be disappearing under their clothing, that had what looked like a round, purple pendant. But if you looked more carefully, it was actually a Master Ball, and in it was contained each trainer's most powerful pokemon. No one except the trainer, his pokemon and the person who took care of their pokemon (Professor Oak for Ash and Gary, Reggie for Paul (his brother) and Professor Sycamore for Lucas) knew what was inside the Master Ball. They hadn't even told their teachers at the Institute what pokemon it contained.

The four youngsters standing before the entrance to the Masters' Institute of Pokemon Battling glanced at each other. For two years they had trained in this very institute under four powerful trainers. First, Agatha, a very old lady who used to be a Kanto Elite 4, who was a master of the psychic, ghost, dark, and flying types. Next, Koga, a much younger trainer who also used to be on the Kanto Elite 4, and master of fighting, poison, bug, fire and water types. The third teacher was Alder, who was a retired Unova Champion, and the absolute authority on rock, ground, steel and electric types. The fourth and final teacher, and by far the greatest of the four, was Cynthia, a specialist in all types and battle strategies and techniques. She was the epitome of battling prowess for the four youngsters and widely regarded as the most powerful pokemon trainer in the world by most of the people in world, who didn't understand the actual structure of the World League and so didn't know there were trainers much more powerful than her. Apart from these specific types, all these teachers were experts on dealing with dangerous situations, because as Champions and Elite 4s, they were responsible for the safety of their region, and when called for by the World League, the entire world. They knew how to handle criminals, how to sniff them out, what to be aware of when battling them, how to infiltrate their organizations and similar things, which was what these four young trainers were also being prepared for, in addition to becoming powerful trainers. For two years these four individuals had taught them battling with each type, how to counter every type, how to take care of their pokemon, and a lot of battle related strategies. They had also been taught stealth and infiltration tactics, target capture and pacification strategies, self-defence, crowd control in case of emergencies and many more useful things about dealing with organized crime threats. But above all they had been taught to understand and love their pokemon, as it brought out their greatest of power in them and would always drive both pokemon and trainer to do their best.

After two years of training under them, they were told that they would now be entering the final stage of their training. Each of the four trainers was sent to train in isolation in four of the most treacherous places in the world. Ash went to Mt Silver between Johto and Kanto, Gary chose the Giant Chasm in Unova, Paul preferred Stark Mountain in Sinnoh and Lucas picked the Moltonese Canyon in Tayose. There were to learn survival with Pokemon and in there they were to find their inner strengths and become strong teams with their Pokemon. They were to become as strong as they could and return after exactly one year, and that too only if they had filled up the three empty slots on their teams.

They all walked through the gates and into the giant practice field that was the only feature that you could see of the school from outside. Right in the middle, where the centre of the circle in the middle of the field should was a chute, down which you actually entered the school. They all nodded at each other and one by one entered the chute, descending down the long slide into the main hall of the school.

"Welcome back trainers. You have finished your one year of intensive training in the wild. Now you will face your final test before you finish your training," A familiar voice said. The main hall also served as a battle stadium and right where the screen should was a stage, lit brilliantly with four spotlights focused on the four teachers, who stood on the stage.

"Agatha, it's good to see you too." Ash was the first to speak. Being the only seven and sometimes eight (whenever Cynthia had time) people in this massive a facility for the first few months of their training, they had all gotten to know each other well and were more friends than teachers and students. After that initial period of staying in the facility, their field training had begun and they had started going on all sorts of assignments to different parts of the world, battling specific trainers, collecting data on dangerous pokemon, investigating suspicious characters and such. "Heck, it's good to see you all in person after such a long time." Ash added. "Pika pi pi pikachuuu," Pikachu agreed wholeheartedly.

"I agree," Lucas said. "Survival training with pokemon might make you understand pokemon better but it also helps you to understand the importance of people in your life. It feels good to finally be back."

"Looks like someone missed comp-" Gary began, but was cut off by Alder.

"We will have enough time for chit-chat later. Right now we need to get on with your final test. All right you cowboys, listen up. For the first part of your final test you are going to have a one on one pokemon battle with one of Cynthia's pokemon, since she is the strongest among us four. If you manage to significantly damage her, you pass. Anything else is fail. Significant damage is bringing down her pokemon's HP down by at least 60%. We will record the HP of her pokemon before and after battle using the Stat-o-meter in the corner of the field.. If you pass, you get to the next and final round of your test. If you fail, it's another year of intensive training for you, and this time you get to take only _one pokemon_ with you." Alder explained.

"Also," Cynthia continued, "so that there are no accusations of me being biased against any one of you by choosing a stronger pokemon, you are going to pick the poke ball of the pokemon battling you from my belt. You will not know which poke ball contains which pokemon, so the selection will be completely random. Also you must use one of the new additions to your team to battle me. Beware, as I will not be holding back even one bit, even if you mess up your chances manage to pick Garchomp."

The four trainers stayed silent for a whole minute. Their thoughts were nearly the same.

 _Pokemon battle against Cynthia! And we need to bring one of her pokemon down to 40% hitpoints! Wow this is gonna be a great opportunity to show how strong I have become, because I can do this,_ Ash thought, _I have complete faith in my partners, we have trained harder than they can imagine and we are strong enough for this, strong enough to even beat her._

All the trainers had different expressions on their faces. Ash was excited, Gary looked nervous, Paul itchy, and Lucas, as usual, expressionless, not betraying a single thought.

"When do we begin?" Paul asked. He was raring to go, and wanted to begin as soon as possible.

"You have five minutes to dump your bags in your rooms and report back here. Battles will begin immediately after the last person arrives. First to arrive is first to battle, giving him a better chance of selecting one of Cynthia's less stronger pokemon. Be late and you will have to beat Cynthia to pass the test. Scram now, you have only 4 minutes and 40 seconds left." Koga replied.

Knowing full well Koga actually meant what he said (he rarely joked), and not fancying their chances of beating Cynthia, they all hurried into the hallway at the challenger's end of the battlefield, which branched into two, one led to their rooms, and the other the classrooms. As fast as possible, everyone threw their bags into their rooms, grabbed a bottle of water and ran while drinking it to the battlefield. Ash, as usual, had decided to have a quick snack and so was the last to reach, his mouth still crammed with biscuits, only just in time to avoid the penalty.

"All right, let's begin. Since Paul got here first, he will begin. Choose a poke ball, Paul." Cynthia said. She took off her belt and placed it on a table in front of Paul, who chose the third poke ball from the left, and placed it in the stat measuring machine. "Well Paul, you might be in luck. This pokemon has fairly below average health compared to what Champions' pokemon normally have. Your task should not be too difficult." Koga informed, noting down the readings on the screen (which was hidden from the trainers' sight). "Anyway let's get this going. Alder, get a move on and take your position as referee. Cynthia, here's your poke ball."

Alder took his position on the referee's stand at the side of the battlefield, while Paul stood in the Challenger's box, saying nothing, but simply fingering a poke ball.

This was not a regular sized field. Knowing that the trainers who would be trained here would be crazy powerful, nearly as powerful as the Champions, and indeed battling a Champion, the four teachers had decided on a Champion standard field. It was twice as large as a regular field, thrice as deep, and came with a safety device that monitored the power levels within the field till 8 metres height, and in case they went over a certain limit, deployed strong electromagnetic fields (EMFs) around the trainer's boxes and the referee's stand, protecting them from the massive power.

"All right, this test battle between Cynthia Shirona, Champion of Sinnoh and Challenger Paul Shinji will be a one on one, no time limit battle. The battle will be over when either pokemon is unable to battle. Trainer, show your pokemon."

"Spiritomb, battle stance." Cynthia called. The Forbidden Pokemon appeared in a beam of red light. It floated in front of Cynthia, ready for battle, its purple fog-like face pulsing in anticipation.

"Flareon, stand by for battle." The red eeveelution materialised before Paul, and called out its name. Everyone could see that she was in perfect health, and well cared for, due to the shine on her fur and sparkle in her eyes. She was quite a bit smaller than an average flareon, but that was no reason to underestimate her as it probably meant she was also much faster.

"Battle begin!" Alder declared.

"Alright Flareon, show 'em your speed, extreme speed!"

"What!" Cynthia exclaimed, "Spiritomb is a ghost type, a normal type move won't affect it. Spiritomb, keep a Dark Pulse ready, and watch Flareon carefully. Don't release it until I say so."

Everyone watched on as Flareon turned a blurred, red streak that shot towards Spiritomb. About a few seconds before she would have struck, or rather passed through, Spiritomb, Paul's eyes lit up, and he added, "Flamethrower on yourself, now!

"Yikes, I should have seen something like this coming. Spiritomb, release Dark Pulse and rise as high as you can!"

Spiritomb released the phenomenal Dark Pulse straight at the oncoming blur, but had no to time carry out the next command. The Flame Pokemon bowed her head and released a jet of flames on her abdomen and became engulfed in fire. She turned into fiery comet due to the momentum of the Extreme Speed and the fire of her Flamethrower and hurtled straight at the twin chains of dark type energy and, to Cynthia's utter shock, _obliterated them,_ before colliding head on with Spiritomb's Odd Keystone, the only physical substance that the ghost type had, and causing an explosion. Spiritomb cried out in pain as Flareon transferred all her momentum to the ghost type and jumped back, landing lightly on her feet, panting slightly, but otherwise unfazed. As the smoke cleared it revealed a still strong Spiritomb, though covered in a few minor bruises.

"Flamethrower, right on the rock."

"Dodge with Agility, then Shadow Punch."

"Wait for the attack, take it and then counter immediately with Firespin."

"That won't work, Paul. Follow up with Shadow Sneak to escape."

After using Agility, Spiritomb momentarily disappeared, and then materialized behind Flareon and punched her in the back, dealing some damage. Flareon used Fire Spin, but it was futile as Spiritomb simply snuck out through the shadows created by the light from the vortex of flames, and dealt some more damage to Flareon.

"Argh! Flareon, Quick Attack into Fire Fang," He added much more quietly, "Also keep Iron Tail ready." No one heard the last part.

"Agility into Dark Pulse." Cynthia countered.

"Do it."

The Forbidden Pokemon sped up then fired the twin chains of the Dark Pulse attack, but was surprised to see it knocked away by a glowing tail.

"Wow, he used Iron tail to knock out my counter attack. Alright Spiritomb, time to end this. Trap her with Rock Tomb before she reaches you and then back to back Shadow Balls straight on the face."

"Damn it… Flareon. Abort moves and get out of there quick."

The Flame Pokemon tried her best, but it was too late, as a ton of rocks descended on her and trapped her, leaving her stuck and vulnerable.

"Flareon! Try your best to get out of there. Try using Iron Tail on the rocks!"

Flareon tried, but it was in vain. There was no room to swing her tail, and in the time she was charging up her Iron Tail and trying to swing it, she had already been struck by three Shadow Balls on her head and could now see a fourth one building.

Paul could see the battle was near its end. Flareon was tired and was getting hit continuously. He knew he would have to turn to his last resort and hopefully deal enough damage to maybe KO Spiritomb or at least pass the test.

"Well Flareon, you have been amazing for your first battle. Time to go for broke. Use Odour Sleuth on Spiritomb, then Flare Blitz, full power, on the rocks and send them flying."

Flareon nose grew green and it sniffed, using Odour Sleuth, and making the spiritomb vulnerable to physical damage, and was hit by another Shadow Ball before preparing what she knew would be her final attack in the battle.

"Spiritomb, try and dodge as much debris as possible, there isn't much we can do as the whole field is going to be in the air."

"Flar Flare ONN" She roared out her name, before becoming engulfed in fire and releasing the tremendous amount of fire type energy on the rocks without actually colliding with them. It resulted in a massive explosion centred on Flareon and sent what looked like half the battlefield flying. The protective EMFs kicked into action, protecting Alder, Cynthia and Paul from getting hurt from the debris. Spiritomb did his best to dodge, but was caught by several of the rocks and cried out in pain, with the cries being the viewers' only source of information until the smoke and dust cleared. When it did, it revealed Flareon lying in a crater in the ground, heavily bruised and with swirls for eyes, while Spiritomb was still floating in the air, covered entirely in bruises and panting heavily.

"Flareon is unable to battle to battle. Victory goes to Cynthia and Spiritomb."

Paul walked over to his pokemon, and fed it a sitrus berry. "You were amazing, Flareon. I am proud to be your trainer." Flareon gave its trainer a quick lick of affection, before going back to its poke ball.

"Well fought, Spiritomb. Return and take a rest." Cynthia returned her Pokemon and then walked over to the stat-o-meter. "So how did Paul do?" She asked Koga, placing the poke ball in its slot. Koga's eyes nearly popped when he say the stats on the monitor. "Amazing… Cynthia, your pokemon is down to just seven percent of its health. He took out ninety three percent of your spiritomb's health. And if I heard it right, this was Flareon's first battle. Right, Paul?

"Technically no, Flareon fought a couple of bullies who were blocking up the road to Veilstone yesterday, but they were so weak she just needed a single Flamethrower to send both their pokemon flying."

"Wow! I wonder how potent the two of you could become after you gain a lot of battle experience," Alder commented, adding, "and how powerful you and Electivire must be now…"

"Paul Shinji, You have now passed this test. Please take a seat in the stands while the others take the test. Lucas, you are next. Step up and choose the poke ball you want to battle." Agatha announced.

"OK, I choose this one," Lucas picked up the fifth poke ball from the left. Cynthia grinned, saying, "Lucas, you are in trouble. That is Milotic that you just picked."

"Oh Damn!" Lucas groaned. He knew Milotic was one of Cynthia's most defensive pokemon. It was practically like a tank, impenetrable, but with tremendous attacks. It was going to be difficult to bring it down to forty percent health.

Koga noted the readings, then handed the poke ball to Cynthia.

"This battle is a test for Lucas Vermont. Rules remain the same. Trainers, reveal your pokemon."

"Time to battle, Milotic. Come on out!"

"Centre stage Dorateuer. Show them your power."

A pink and blue coloured, lean pokemon materialised in front of him. It was about 5 feet tall, with a perfectly spherical head which had slit like eyes, with a round white nose and puffy black lips. Its arms were muscular and long, and each ended with what looked like a drumstick. Its body was a light blue, but its head was magenta pink. Where there should have been legs, was a set of three different sized drums, but instead of plastic membranes, they were covered by the pokemon's skin. Its abdomen was humanoid, but with three pink circles of decreasing size from top to bottom. The pokemon floated in the air, indicating it was probably either a psychic or a ghost type.

"Where did he get that pokemon?" Gary asked, staring. He knew it was an extremely rare Tayosian native. Ash whipped out his pokedex, which was upgraded to a global mode that allowed it to recognize all known pokemon in the world.

"Dorateuer, the Deadly Drummer Pokemon, and the evolved form of Dorfant. Dorateuer and Dorfant are two of the rarest pokemon species known, found only in the Tayose region's harsh Moltonese Canyon. Dorateuer uses its drumstick arms as long, blunt swords, and can sword-fight with them at blinding speeds. The drums that have replaced its feet are its deadliest weapon, they can emit a sound so powerful that sometimes earthquakes are said to be caused by Dorateuer beating their drums underground." The pokedex announced. On its screen it listed other information, which showed it was a fighting and psychic type, an unusual combo, and had a pretty good move pool. Its stats were comparable to a high level fully evolved starter pokemon. This was going to be one heck of a battle.

"Battle begin!"

"Start off with a quick Cross Cut attack."

"Dodge and Surf!"

Dorateuer glowed with a blue psychic aura, formed an X with its arms, and then brought its arms to its side with unbelievable speed, cutting an X of psychic energy and launched it straight at the Milotic. The attack was so fast that the beautiful pokemon stood no chance of dodging it and took it head on, before causing a huge wave of water to encompass the battlefield. Dorateuer was hit, albeit only on the drums as he had started floating upwards to avoid the damage.

"Dorateuer, Swords Dance into back to back Shock Swords."

"Milotic use Light Screen while it is boosting its attack, then get ready to move fast."

Up in the air, Dorateuer's closed its eyes and its arms glowed, raising its attack sharply. Meanwhile, Milotic conjured a shield of light to reduce damage from special attacks.

Dorateuer finished its Swords Dance, and then started rubbing its arms along the edge of its drums, as if it were actually sharpening swords. They were moving at a speed too fast for the eye to follow, and when they stopped a few seconds later, they were both sparking with static electricity caused by the friction. Then, as Milotic got ready to dodge the attack that it could see was going to be supereffective, Dorateuer _disappeared_ from sight, and reappeared a a moment later next to Milotic and started hammering her with the blinding fast strikes the pokedex had mentioned. Each hit caused the pokemon to shudder in shock as electricity coursed through its body. Milotic was unable to even count how many hits landed, such was the speed of Dorateurs' attack.

"What the …" Gary trailed off, completely stunned by the speed and power of the Deadly Drummer. You couldn't even make out its shape, it was just a blur that kept hitting Milotic. Ash, meanwhile, could see Lucas was winning the battle, and Cynthia would have to do something quick if she wanted to stay undefeated.

On the field, Cynthia smiled. She hadn't been pushed this far in a battle in a long time. It was time to use her emergency tactic, developed just in case of such a situation. "All right Milotic, time to turn things around. Trick Room!"

Milotic grinned mischievously, despite the pain, before executing the order. Her trainer was enjoying this battle and was going all out, because Trick Room was one of her biggest aces in the hole, that she kept a secret.

"What!" Lucas shouted. He was in trouble. His pokemon was extremely fast and that put him at a massive disadvantage in a trick room. "Arrgh! Dorateuer, give it your all, Drumroll, full power.!"

"Hyperbeam Milotic, finish it off."

Dorateuer started beating his drums and a sphere of energy formed in front of it. With each hit, the sphere grew in size, but it was too fast to be able to finish this move before Hyperbeam struck, and so launched a half finished Drumroll at the oncoming Hyperbeam. The two moves met and exploded about a foot from it, and it was blasted straight to the edge of the battlefield, where it managed to stop just in time despite the world of pain it felt. Before it could recover, it distinctly heard its opponent's trainer commanding a Surf attack. During the time that Milotic was recovering, he managed snap out of his pain, but again, due to the Trick Room, it could not follow through on its trainer's command of dodge.

As the water drained away, it was clear that the powerful Tayosian had been beaten.

"Dorateuer is unable to battle. Cynthia wins." Alder declared.

Lucas thanked his pokemon and returned it, before turning to Cynthia, who had returned her pokemon.

"That Trick Room completely pulled the ground from under me. That was one heck of a strategy." He told her.

Cynthia smile, handed the poke ball to Koga to see if Lucas had passed, and turned to the youngest of her pupils. "Trust me; you pushed me to the brink. Trick Room is Milotic's biggest ace; I don't use it unless I absolutely have to."

"Well Lucas, you passed, but just barely, which is still a surprise considering that Milotic is Cynthia's second best when it comes to durability, next only to her legendary Garchomp, which is basically her best in all departments." Koga informed.

Lucas joined Paul in the stands. It was Gary next, and they all knew which pokemon he was going to use. He had been droning on and on about it for the two days they had travelled together, from Veilstone City to the Institute.

Gary strutted to the table with the poke balls and announced, "Cynthia, prepare to lose that 'unbeaten' adjective that you carry about so proudly. My Metagross is going to wipe the floor with you." He picked up the second poke ball on the left, which turned out to be Togekiss.

Soon the battle began, and while it was good, it was nothing compared to the earlier battles. Gary kept attacking with Psychic and Psybeam from a distance, while Togekiss approched Metagross as closely as possible and used a variety of moves such as steel wing and Zen Headbutt. Both Pokemon were taking minimal damage due to their types and the way they were moving around, and the battle was looking stale, when Gary decided to spice it up.

"Metagross, let's give it our all! Mega Evolve!"

He brought his wrist up and pressed the keystone embedded in his left wrist band. Beams of blinding white radiated from it and fused into the megastone on Metagross' left forelimb. It began to glow, and when the light died down, it revealed Mega-Metagross, who looked much more powerful now.

"Well done Gary. Let's finish it quick. Togekiss, Water Pulse into Shockwave."

"Metagross, Protect, then Ancient Power."

Water Pulse, which would have made Metagross wet and vulnerable to Shockwave, was negated by the Protect, and then Ancient Power collided with Shockwave in a massive explosion. Both pokemon took severe damage, but were still ready for more.

"Metagross, end this with a massive Rock Slide."

"Togekiss, return the Rock Slide with Psychic, then back to back Aura Spheres."

As a huge number of rocks rocketed towards Togekiss, it became outlined in a blue psychic aura, as did most of the rocks, and despite its best efforts it could only make the rocks drop to the ground and not return them back. It also took severe damage from three rocks that slipped through the Psychic, but managed to hold on and begin rapid firing aura spheres at the psychic type pokemon. Metagross, overwhelmed by the sheer number of aura spheres that were hitting it supereffectively, could do nothing as it felt its lights go out.

"Metagross is unable to battle. Togekiss wins." Alder announced.

"Well fought, Metagross. Take a break." Gary returned his pokemon and saw Cynthia had already returned hers and handed it to Koga, who declared that Gary passed quiet comfortably, bringing Togekiss down by seventy six per cent HP.

Next in line, and the last, was Ash.

He chuckled to himself as he watched Gary go and join the spectators. They were all in for a show, because Ash Ketchum had trained hard, much harder than other three could even imagine. He knew that any single pokemon of his, at full power, could take down even Cynthia's Garchomp, and that too without taking too much damage. He had learnt in the harshest way possible that however hard you trained, it was never guaranteed to be enough, and so he had poured all his heart and soul to become stronger and more powerful so as to have the best chance in any situation. Since that catastrophic battle a month after he went into isolation, he hadn't lost a single battle, and was not planning on doing so.

He approached the belt and saw the three poke balls left. The first, fourth and sixth. In them were Garchomp, Lucario and Roserade. He looked at Cynthia and asked, "Which one's Garchomp?" Cynthia chuckled, knowing he was anxious to avoid him, and pointed to the last one. Ash grinned, and said, "I don't believe you," and picked the last poke ball, handing it to Koga. He placed it in the stat machine and told Ash, "You know, Mt Ember's a pretty good place for intensive training. I myself went there for a couple of years before becoming an Elite 4."

Ash sighed. "She wasn't lying, was she?"

Cynthia laughed and shook her head, "I wasn't," before picking up her poke ball and walking up to her side of the battlefield.

Ash picked off a poke ball from his belt and walked over to his box. He nodded to Alder, who announced the battle and asked them to reveal their pokemon.

"Garchomp, stand-by for battle."

"Alright buddy, I choose you!"

A black and blue pokemon materialized in front of him. It was bipedal, with a doglike head which had pointed black ears and four small black appendages on the back of its head. It had smattering of cream coloured fur on its torso that resembled a vest. On the back of his paws was a spike each and another in the centre of its chest.

It announced its presence on the field by slamming a glowing azure fist into a glowing azure palm, and sending a powerful pulse of aura radially outward. It was so powerful that everyone in the stadium, except Ash, shuddered involuntarily when it touched them.

"Lucario, how many times do I have to tell you not to show off every time I call you out for a battle?"

Lucario scratched his head sheepishly. _Forgive me, Master, I will try not to do so again._ He communicated to Ash through his aura. "First, I am not 'Master'; I am Ash. And second, we have a tough battle on our hands, so focus." _Yes, Master._ Ash sighed; try hard as he might, he could not get Lucario to stop calling him Master.

"Wait, were you just talking to your lucario?" Cynthia asked.

"Yes. As you would know since you yourself have a lucario, they can manipulate aura. Since I am also an aura guardian, my lucario can communicate with me using his aura, as I can perceive it."

 _Great,_ Cynthia thought, _He not only has an immensely powerful lucario, he can also communicate with it telepathically. I felt that pulse of aura that lucario sent out. It was much stronger than what my own lucario can send out, and if Ash has put a megastone on his lucario somewhere, its power is going to increase tenfold on mega evolution. Despite battling with Garchomp, I think I might be in trouble. I wonder if Ash intentionally picked Garchomp, just to show how much he has improved. If he is an aura guardian, he must have sensed the powerful aura emanating from Garchomp's poke ball, and yet he chose it nevertheless. I had better tread carefully, because a trainer_ choosing _to battle Garchomp is uncharted territory for me, most usually get scared of just thinking about battling him, and I exploit that fear to beat them badly even while holding back. But with Ash, there would be no such fear, even if he hadn't chosen Garchomp intentionally, only a thirst to prove himself and the excitement of a challenging battle. I will_ not _be holding back today._

"Battle begin," Alder called.

Cynthia took the initiative. "Garchomp, start off with Earthquake."

Ash spoke a single word. "Jump."

And Lucario jumped. Its jump left people staring in awe at it. Rather than crouching and then springing up directly, Lucario had used the hardness of the ground to his advantage and after crouching, he had raised his right leg high in the air, and kicked it hard straight at the ground at the exact same moment as jumping up with his left, using the force of the kick to propel himself to a jaw dropping height of 15 feet. Even Garchomp, who had sent out the Earthquake just a moment too late to catch that lucario in the move, stared. Lucario seemed to hover there, high in the air, for an eternity, before Ash called out its next move while looking amusingly at everyone's reactions.

"Force Palm on the ground, then get ready for Aura Sphere."

"Garchomp, avoid the damage from that Force Palm by flying into the air. Defend from any debris flying your way by using Twister in a circle around you."

The Aura Pokemon used the gravity to good effect by plummeting face first to the ground with his palm glowing. He slammed it into the ground right before his head would have hit it and used it to do a flip and land on his feet. He then started building a powerful Aura Sphere and keep it ready for launch. Garchomp had meanwhile risen in the air and used twister around himself to avoid most of the damage.

"Dragon Pulse while it builds the sphere."

"Too late, Cynthia. Release it."

Lucario launched the sphere, and when Garchomp tried to dodge it, he used his aura power to cause it to _curve_ into Garchomp, catching him squarely on the face.

Garchomp shrugged off the damage and launched Dragon Pulse. He and his trainer need to make a statement, and so the Dragon Pulse was much faster and stronger than it normally would be. Lucario tried to dodge, but was caught on the side and winced in pain from the power of that move.

 _Wow,_ Ash thought, _Cynthia truly is unleashing her full power.I have never seen a Garchomp other than mine use a Dragon Pulse that powerful or fast. Maybe I underestimated her._

He reached out to Lucario with his aura. _Lucario, be careful. You felt how strong that Dragon Pulse was. I have complete faith in you but I think this is the first time that I am going to see Cynthia and Garchomp going all out and I don't want to be caught unawares._

 _Yes, Master,_ came the reply.

"Lucario, Agility into Agility into Agility. Become fast as lightening. Make sure you keep dodging any attacks that come your way."

"Garchomp, Draco Meteor. Don't let him finish that many Agility moves, or this battle's as good as over."

Garchomp built up the deadliest dragon type attack in its mouth and launched it. Lucario had finished using his first Agility move. Garchomp flew into the air to protect himself from the projectiles that were about to rain down.

"Not going to work, Cynthia. Lucario abort Agility, use Dig and and don't come up until the tremors stop."

The projectiles started hitting the battlefield, causing the EMFs to kick into action again, just as Lucario went underground, taking no damage from the deadliest dragon type move.

"Garchomp, finish this, maximum power Earthquake!"

As the Mach Pokemon started descending at tremendous speed towards the ground to cause the earthquake with its impact, Ash called out his counter.

"Quickly use Agility to come up, then use the momentum to get straight to Garchomp in the air and use a Dual Ice Punch bang on its back."

"Garchomp, abort and use Dragon Pulse quickly on him, don't let him reach you," Cynthia called out fearfully, knowing full well that an ice type move was going to be quadruple effective on the dragon/ground type garchomp. _Wow,_ she thought, despite her situation, _I haven't been actually scared in a battle in a long time; I think the last time I had been scared was during my challenge for the title of Champion nearly 15 years ago. Gosh, has it really been this long since I actually got the adrenaline rush of fear in a battle?_

Meanwhile, on the field, things weren't going Garchomp's way. He had managed to launch a Dragon Pulse at the oncoming streak of blue and black, but it had been much weaker than the earlier one, because this time he had much lesser time, and was also reeling from the after effects of Draco Meteor, which sharply cut his special attack power. As a result, Lucario had slowed down slightly due to damage from the move, but had continued straight on his trajectory towards Garchomp's back, and landed a double fisted hammer punch covered in ice type energy straight on his back.

"Dragon Claw immediately" his trainer called. Garchomp turned around while plummeting, and scratched Lucario's face with a claw of purple draconic energy, finally dealing a considerable amount of damage. When both pokemon landed, it created a cloud of dust, and when it cleared, both of them were panting heavily, and covered in bruises, with Lucario clearly looking the better of the two.

For about half a minute, there was absolute silence, as everyone waited with baited breath to see of any of the two powerhouses would fall. It was broken by Ash calling out his next move.

"Lucario, Heal Pulse."

Lucario healed himself, regaining a good amount of health and his panting stopped, instead drawing slow, steady breaths.

"Very well, Ash. I will admit it. You have pushed me into a corner that I haven't been pushed into since I became Champion. And now, you have cornered a tigress, who is most dangerous when desperate. Get ready to lose, Lucario and Ash. Garchomp, give it your all, Mega Evolve!"

Everyone gasped as beams of white energy shot from a necklace that Cynthia had hidden beneath her coat until now, and contained her keystone, and connected with the megastone cleverly concealed underneath a wing joint on Garchomp's back. Garchomp glowed, and when the light died down it revealed a scary powerful mega evolved Mach Pokemon.

"Dragon Claw combat, until he is KOed" Cynthia called.

"Lucario keep dodging, then find an opening to break his rhythm and hit it with Aura Spheres."

For about fifteen minutes, Lucario kept dancing around the Dragon Claws, occasionally taking a hit, but mostly avoiding. The few people watching were astounded by how fast and graceful he was. Then Lucario found the opening he needed. Just as Garchomp brought both his scythes down in a double Dragon Claw, Lucario sidestepped, then put a foot on Garchomp's shoulder and kicked off into the air, firing an aura sphere over his behind him and guiding it with his aura on to Garchomp's face. Then, while coming down, it launched two aura spheres simultaneously from both hands, one hitting his opponent on the shoulder and other the knee, completely breaking the assault that Garchomp had mounted.

Both pokemon stared at each other, panting, and wanting this to finish. Their trainers' too felt their pokemon wanting to end this, so Ash called on to Lucario.

"Lucario, there's no holding back now. Warrior mode, let's go."

Everyone thought the same thing. _Warrior mode? Is it something like Battle Bond?_

Chuckling, Ash said, "I know what you all are thinking, and no it is nothing like Battle Bond. It's only a name I gave to one of the tactics that Lucario and I use. Watch."

On the battlefield, Lucario had closed his eyes and was now glowing azure with the power of aura. As everyone watched, a large amount of aura started pouring out of his hands and spreading all over his body. It formed a chestplate, greaves, and a set of forearm guards, like a suit of armour, minus the helmet and the boots. Then Lucario brought his hands down to his sides. In his left hand, a shield of aura formed. It was like a medieval Knight's shield, except that it was the bright azure colour of aura and had no emblem on it. In his right hand, he formed a bone club used for his bone rush attacks and held it like a sword. When he opened his eyes, they were glowing with aura too. Swap that bone club for an aura sword, and he would look just like a medieval knight, except covered in aura rather than metal, which made him look even more awe inspiring. It was a fearsome sight.

"Garchomp, warrior or not, Lucario cannot withstand your Dragon Rush combat. Finish it off!"

"Lucario, you know what to do. Bone Rush!"

Both pokemon started a sword fight, with Garchomp using its scythe like arms and Lucario his bone club as swords. He also utilised his shield, by blocking several of his opponent's strikes. He fought with the skill of a swordsman who had spent years honing his skills.

After a few minutes, both the trainers looked at each other and nodded. They both called out the final attack in this clash of titans. Together they yelled.

"HYPER BEAM!"

The two pokemon pumped the very last of their strengths into the ultimate move.

The two beams released simultaneously, and collided right in the centre of the battlefield. The EMFs kicked into action again as a massive explosion rocked the whole facility, covering the entire stadium in dust and smoke. The emergency ventilators that had been installed in the stadium kicked into overtime, clearing the air, while the trainers inside coughed, apart from the three on the field, who were protected. After about five minutes, the dust and smoke cleared. Everyone was stunned at what they saw, once they recovered from their coughing fits. On the battlefield, the two pokemon were still standing, covered completely in bruises and panting heavily, staring each other down. Then slowly, as if in slow motion, Garchomp leaned slightly forwards, about to collapse, just as Lucario straightened its back and stood a little taller. However, half a second later, with a tremendous oar of effort, the Mach Pokemon stood back up, showing it was ready to continue. Lucario fell to one knee, and then he too got back up roaring his name.

Ash, meanwhile, was shocked at how far Lucario was willing to go for him. Without his mega evolution, he would normally have fainted even before Garchomp mega evolved and started landing those Dragon Claws. He had felt the pain that his lucario had been feeling their aura connection and was stunned to see his Lucario still standing, and willing to go on. He knew what he had to do.

"Lucario, as much as I know you want to win, I am sorry but I cannot allow you to fight on. You have fought amazingly, and against an opponent like Cynthia and Garchomp, you have exceeded all expectations. Look at that dragon, Lucario. He's barely standing, and I don't think he has been pushed this far since Cynthia became Champion. I cannot allow you to get hurt my friend, so return and rest."

 _No Master, let me go on, I can win; I will win!_ But then he felt the darkness coming and knew it was over. _Arrgh! I am sorry, Master. I-I failed, I let you dow-_ Lucario couldn't even finish the thought before fainting. Ash went over to his faithful friend. He pooled some aura into his right hand while covering it with his left so no one could see, and patted him on the head, transferring it to Lucario. Lucario's eyes returned to normal, his breathing slowed, and his faint turned into peaceful sleep. He scratched him behind his ears and told him, "Lucario, my buddy, you have always been amazing. I have always been proud of you, from the moment that we started training together. What you did today, was astounding. You could never fail; you could never let me down, Lucario. I am the happiest and proudest trainer in the world because I can call you my friend. Come and take a good rest," earning a sigh of contentment from the now asleep pokemon, before returning it to its poke ball.

Alder suddenly came to his senses and announced the result, stuttering from the awe of Lucario's power, having never seen Cynthia's Garchomp anywhere within miles of being this close to fainting, not even after it took down three of Tobias' Legendary pokemon, Darkrai, Latios and Entei, in a row during Tobias' challenge for her title last month. Tobias was now Elite 1 of the Sinnoh Elite 4, and had he chosen to challenge any other region's League, would easily have been a Champion.

Alder, the most confident and unfazed man, who never lost his cool in any situation, was stuttering. That was the magnitude of the feat that Ash Ketchum had just accomplished.

Garchomp, hearing the result, finally gave in to exhaustion and collapsed on the ground, swirls for eyes. He had won, but only technically, as he had fainted right after his opponent. The thud that sounded when he hit the floor seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, as everyone saw the impossible happening. When the five spectators and the referee overcame their shock, they all started applauding both pokemon and their trainers. It was a mark of Ash achieving the same power status in their heads as Cynthia that they were both cheered on equally. What had been expected to be an overwhelmingly one sided and short battle had turned into a clash of titans. Everyone expected a massacre, but instead got a war. It was surreal for them to think that a trainer that they were rivals/teachers of was powerful enough to have KOed Cynthia's Garchomp.

A tear slid down each of Cynthia's eyes as she saw her most faithful partner going down. It was a tear of pride and joy. Her amazing friend, who was almost like a brother to her, had nearly lost, fighting against the greatest pair of pokemon and trainer she had ever seen. He had given it his all, even mega evolution, and still had nearly been beaten. She had fought without even slight restraint after over a decade and still Ash Ketchum had damn near beat her. Despite being an unbeaten Champion for longer than any trainer in the history of the League, this victory would rank joint first along with her victory in her Championship challenge all those years ago in her list of most memorable victories. She was also a thrilled teacher in that moment, as it was her student who had nearly done the seemingly impossible. His training had paid rich dividends. He had found his true strength and had come closer to beating the Sinnoh Champion than anyone else in history, without even mega-evolving Lucario. In that moment, her victory was absolute; she was the proudest teacher and trainer in the world, amazed at both her pupil and her pokemon.

Several hours later, lying in their rooms, Paul, Lucas and Gary were all thinking of the battle, albeit about different aspects of it. They had been given the day off after the phenomenal battle, and the second part of their test had been rescheduled for the next day. All four trainers had retired to their rooms, tired and exhausted from a long journey and then their respective battles.

Paul was sitting in his couch, still having difficulty in accepting the fact that Ash was so much stronger than him. They had been about the same strength before they went into isolation training. He had expected Ash to be at least as strong as and probably a bit stronger than himself after the harsh training, but Ash was on another level now. It was driving him nuts, the fact that Ash could have gotten so far ahead of him, and he knew this was going to drive him to become better as a trainer for years to come. As he reflected back on the way Ash had almost chickened out of joining the Institute, he couldn't help but smile. Ash might have changed a lot on the outside, but inside he was still the same kid who loved his pokemon above all and would never let them get hurt, even at the cost of losing, as he had just proved a few a hours ago. He had always shown that love for his pokemon and it had driven him to get stronger, and while Paul would never admit this to anyone, not even his brother, Paul knew Ash was an inspiration for him. Ever since his defeat to Ash in the Sinnoh League, Paul had strived to become more like him, to care for his pokemon, even delving deep into his thoughts to find his love for his Electivire and be able to battle bond with him; just so that he wouldn't stay far behind Ash. Yet Paul had remained distinctly different from Ash, always being objective, strategic and pragmatic in a battle. He was clear on what he was going to do at every point in the battle, and would have meticulously planned his fight before the battle even began. Contrary to that, Ash lived in the heat of battle, and fought with emotion. He came up with good strategies, yes, but they were never the classic ones. Always something unique and unthought-of, that he cooked up in the middle of fighting, something no one ever expected. Now Ash had surpassed all expectations, and Paul was set to surpass even him.

Lucas sat in his chair, crunching on chips, thinking about how well Lucario had been trained. He was extremely fast, just a shade slower than Dorateuer, but a dorateuer's main strength was its speed, while a lucario's biggest advantage was massive attack power. Despite that, Lucario moved fast as the wind, and still had terrific attack power. The efficiency and skill with which it launched its Aura Spheres and controlled them using aura was inspiring too; and the way he launched that one over his shoulder, on a moving target, while jumping up was jaw dropping. He appreciated the amount of time, sweat and maybe even blood that the trainer and pokemon had spent on honing their skills, and knew he was going to try and become just as strong.

Gary Oak lay on his bed, staring at the half poke ball that Ash had given him back after the Johto League when Gary lost, twirling it in his fingers. He felt a strange sense of pride in having once drawn with and even beaten a trainer who was to go on and push Cynthia to the absolute brink. During his early days as a trainer, before he 'retired' to become a researcher, Cynthia had been his role model. He had wanted to be just like her when he grew up. And seeing his childhood friend send his idol to the very edge of defeat was indescribable. He remembered the day he had said yes to Cynthia's offer. For two days she had been trying to convince him to join, and when he had asked why she was so intent on him joining, he hadn't gotten a straight answer. Finally, three days before she was to leave, she had told him the real reason.

 _*Flashback*_

" _Look Cynthia, I don't even know why you would want me join a battling school. I am no more a trainer. I am a researcher. The only reasons that I have heard is some bull about me being very caring towards my pokemon and having a lot of knowledge. While I don't deny either of the two things, what I don't get is why you want me to leave researching. There are dozens of trainers out there who care just as much as me about their pokemon. There are tons of them who know a lot about pokemon, and are stronger than me. I will ask the same as Ash did. Why particularly me? I can't even Battle Bond with any of my Pokemon. Yet you expect me to think that I was selected only for being good to pokemon and knowing a lot about them? If you aren't going to be honest with me, you have no chance of convincing me to join you. So stop badgering me." He knew he was being rude, but Cynthia was being illogical. She expected to pull rank because of her status and expected him to say yes without asking any questions. That would not happen with Gary._

 _Under this assault from the young researcher, Cynthia finally cracked. She had been trying her best to avoid bringing this up. But now she knew she must if she wanted him to come out of retirement._

" _Very well. You weren't our first choice with this program. After all, as you have been pointing out, you are a researcher, not a trainer. But you know why we are training you. We want to make you into trainers powerful enough to stand up to organized crime and protect civilians from harm. You are our secret safeguards. Because no one suspects a group of friends wo are out on a journey to become Pokemon Masters and are taking part in various league tournaments. We want you to be powerful also so that you can participate in all major tournaments and are there to protect it from attacks, especially pokemon leagues. You see, in the last few years, high profile tournaments have become prime targets for criminal organizations. You recently saw what Team Flare did in Kalos. But we also need you to be able to work as a team. You see, we will be entering you in any inter-regional tournament that takes place, as it should be a hot spot for terrorists. You will need to work as a team, and that is where you need to come in. First, you are the only man in this world who understands both Ash and Paul well, because you have grown up with Ash and you know Paul from the time you spent in Sinnoh, where he helped with your work. They are like oil and water; they just don't mix on their own. Lucas is very calm and cool headed, but has nowhere near the experience you, Ash and Paul do, so he is unfit to lead. You have to keep them under a leash and help them work as a team. Besides, of the four recruits, you're the only one who has actually had to work in a team regularly, being a researcher. You also have a much more stable head than these two and would hold the team together. That is why we want; no, we_ need _you to take up battling once again."_

" _Finally, a straight answer. Look, I respect what you are doing, and I also think it is good, but I am not going to say yes for two reasons. First, I am not really keen on being a 'glue' that holds the team together. You may call it leading, but you know as well as I do that that Ash and Paul listen to no one, especially those who can't beat them in battle, and I know I can't. Second, I am a researcher, and being Professor Samuel Oak's grandson, I have already got a lot of projects running under me, which, sincerely, I shouldn't have gotten to head as I lack experience, but again, the Oak surname helps in the research world. I can't simply give them up, because those guys need my help. I am sorry, but my answer's a no."_

 _*Flshback End*_

And so he had refused to join the school. What he hadn't told Cynthia was that despite being a well-established researcher, he still was not happy, and felt something was missing in his life. He didn't admit it, but he wasn't content just researching pokemon. He felt like he had completed the jigsaw of what he had wanted, but was missing the central piece of the puzzle. He had found out what that piece was two days later. He had just lost in a friendly battle to Paul, and was about to lose to Ash, when it hit him hard what he had been missing. He missed thrill and excitement in his life. Earlier, when he had begun his research, he had worked as a field assistant for other established researchers, going out in the field and doing dangerous stuff, like planting cameras in beedrill nests, or going underwater and trying to take a picture of a gyrados without disturbing it. That had given him a thrill and satisfied his need of getting a rush, but now that he himself was the lead researcher he could no longer do that. Research had lately become merely paper pushing; sifting through tons of data collected by the field workers and sending the relevant information forward and trashing the rest. It was a dull, boring, desk job. He wanted to feel the adrenaline run through his veins; the nerves tingle in anticipation and hear his heart beating as if it were near the end of its life. He also came to the realization that he had only taken up research to understand pokemon better, and while battling Ash, he realized why he prized knowledge of pokemon so much. He prized it above all because he liked to apply it to his life, and he found that there was no better place to do that than in battle. With this in mind, he had decided to take up competitive battling again, and since he was doing it anyways, why not become the best at it? So he had changed his mind about joining at the last moment. And now, after watching Ash battle, he realized how amazing a decision he had made. The battle had been classic Ash Ketchum style. Unexpected, unorthodox, and unique strategies made on the run. Astounding courage from both trainer and pokemon, to run into attacks, do what seemed to be suicidal. The way he had powered up Lucario's jump was terrific. Then was warrior mode, an extremely efficient utilization of Lucario's aura powers. But above all, it had been his love and trust for his partner that brought about the results. The way he had withdrawn from battle when he knew his pokemon was at its limit showed how deeply he cared about his pokemon. As the bell for lunch rang, Gary smiled and got up to leave and finally catch up with his friends.

Meanwhile, in his room, Ash had brought Lucario out. After congratulating it on its battle, he had focused a large amount of his aura into his palms and transferred it Lucario, manipulating it to heal its various injuries. Lucario, like his pikachu, liked to stay out of his poke ball. So Ash let him go to sleep on his bed, while he and pikachu played tag around the room, with occasional grunts of irritation from Lucario. Suddenly, Ash's stomach gave a loud growl, and just as well, because the next moment the bell rang, signifying lunch. He woke up Lucario, Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and he pulled his hat back on as he walked out of his room. He was excited to finally be able to catch up on what the others had been upto, and chuckled, knowing he was going to have to answer a lot before being allowed to ask anything, still remembering the look on their faces when Cynthia's Garchomp had fallen, despite after he won the battle against Lucario.

 **A/N: 10,460 words. This is the app. length of chaps. I know I skipped over Lucas during the last part where I was showing the Paul and Gary in detail, but he has an entire chapter dedicated to his character build up as he is an OC. More of how they were trained will be covered through flashbacks. Also thanks a lot to Shadowkiller168, vennerofcute, and St. Elmo's Fire for their constructive feedback, esp. shadowkiller168, who was a big help. Please review and criticise, as with the Prologue, I will be modifying it if I feel unsatisfied with my work after the reviews. As promised, 100 words A/N only.**


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